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macrumors newbie

I am in a bit of a dilemma here, I bought the SS Apple watch back when it came out but since then they have released the gold aluminum watch. My question is should I spend the $399 to get my SS plated in shiny gold or should I just get the gold aluminum and not have to worry about peeling? Thanks in advance!

macrumors G5

I'd highly suggest that you not go with WatchPlate for $399 so you'll have to spend a little bit more to get it properly plated. There's no need to worry about peeling if it's done properly. Otherwise, get the gold aluminum.

macrumors regular

I used thetimepreserve.com on 7/6/15. My watch still looks just like the
⌚ Edition (I never claim it is one tho). They are very professional & communication w/them is terrific. I had ⌚ and 2 bands gold plated. They have a two year warranty.

Moderator

I used thetimepreserve.com on 7/6/15. My watch still looks just like the
⌚ Edition (I never claim it is one tho). They are very professional & communication w/them is terrific. I had ⌚ and 2 bands gold plated. They have a two year warranty.

Looks nice, though I wonder how well it will hold up vs. buying a gold watch from apple directly.

I've seen some very negative posts regarding watch plate, but I've not heard of thetimepreserve.com. Personally, I'd be concerned about quality of work after the fact but I have to admit, that those images look really nice.

macrumors 6502a

Do they plate aluminum and stainless steel? I don't see any mention of plating the Apple Watch Sport, just curious if that's possible or if they only do Apple Watch (which is what they specify on the order form, but they make no mention of the Sport model at all, so not sure.)

macrumors regular

Do they plate aluminum and stainless steel? I don't see any mention of plating the Apple Watch Sport, just curious if that's possible or if they only do Apple Watch (which is what they specify on the order form, but they make no mention of the Sport model at all, so not sure.)

Moderator

I wouldn't either and I'm not a fan of a gold watches but I will say the images attached were nice looking. By far the best I've seen of any gold plating. I figure different strokes for different folks, I'm happy with my space gray sport model, but others may want a little more pizzaz

Well its already anodized so I would think they'd need to prepare the surface for gold plating. They'd also need to do that with the SS model as well, but I assume the preparation work would differ thanks to the different material (SS vs. Alu)

macrumors G5

Most members here who've plated their watches aren't trying to pass it off as an Edition, but they did it because they dislike wearing silver/chrome jewelry or they simply like the look of gold.

Many guys feel uncomfortable wearing the rose gold aluminum models as they're quite pink. Plating the SS model in real rose gold, which achieves the proper copper color, is a good way to circumvent this problem if they really want rose gold.

I have the link bracelet and I personally think all single-tone gold watches are tacky whether they're solid gold (like Beyoncé's link bracelet) or gold plated. However, I'm aware that not everyone shares my opinion.

macrumors regular

You would have to decide if the scratches on your ⌚ would bother you very much. Both SS & gold plated accumulate scratches over time. With SS, some have posted easy, quick fixes. With a gold plated ⌚ - not so easy to fix yourself. (With Time Preserve, their warranty does not cover scratches, but they will refinish at a greatly reduced cost.) I'm not certain whether the aluminum ⌚ shows scratches. Before you try a service, look at their history in business. A history of "20 years of services for in restoring fine watches" got my attention over a startup service within the last year. That said, I just learned the hard way that "you get what you pay for". Below are images of 2 modern buckles that have been gold plated - the black one by thetimepreserve.com in July when I had my ⌚ gold plated & the brown one gold plated this past week by a different company (not Watchplate, I knew not to use this service from other posts). I just received the brown one back yesterday. I used a different service to save a few $$ & to see what their quality was. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. As you can see, the brown MB is deeper gold and very splotchy. The black MB is the same color gold as the ⌚ Edition (Cuppertino gold, I believe). Both services claim that the gold plating is 18K. The final decision about whether to purchase the gold Sport model or to purchase the SS & have it gold plated is entirely up to you, just be certain to weigh your options & decide what works for you.

macrumors G5

You would have to decide if the scratches on your ⌚ would bother you very much. Both SS & gold plated accumulate scratches over time. With SS, some have posted easy, quick fixes. With a gold plated ⌚ - not so easy to fix yourself. (With Time Preserve, their warranty does not cover scratches, but they will refinish at a greatly reduced cost.) I'm not certain whether the aluminum ⌚ shows scratches. Before you try a service, look at their history in business. A history of "20 years of services for in restoring fine watches" got my attention over a startup service within the last year. That said, I just learned the hard way that "you get what you pay for". Below are images of 2 modern buckles that have been gold plated - the black one by thetimepreserve.com in July when I had my ⌚ gold plated & the brown one gold plated this past week by a different company (not Watchplate, I knew not to use this service from other posts). I just received the brown one back yesterday. I used a different service to save a few $$ & to see what their quality was. Needless to say, I'm disappointed. As you can see, the brown MB is deeper gold and very splotchy. The black MB is the same color gold as the ⌚ Edition (Cuppertino gold, I believe). Both services claim that the gold plating is 18K. The final decision about whether to purchase the gold Sport model or to purchase the SS & have it gold plated is entirely up to you, just be certain to weigh your options & decide what works for you.View attachment 582340View attachment 582341View attachment 582344View attachment 582348

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